Joseph Mutua Ndonga
As the day of filing of the motion of impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua drew closer, the DP kept insisting that he was ready to face his accusers.
This day has finally come. The motion is expected to be tabled in parliament today and going by recent comments attributed to his allies the DP has lined up a number of preliminary objections.
One of them might touch on the issue of public participation as the DP is on record reiterating that the views of Kenyans should have been collected.
But the Kibwezi West MP, the mover of the motion, seems to pour cold water on this argument.
He avers that his decision to file the motion of removing Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office is informed by articles 150 and 145 of the constitution.
It seems to point out that the two articles do not compel the Mover to seek the views of Kenyans. MPs are representatives of Kenyans and they entrust us to handle this matter.
The DP states that President William Ruto and I were elected by the people of Kenya via the same ticket of United Democratic Alliance (UDA). So these MPs have no power to send me home because I was not elected by them.
As a politician, this was a well calculated political strategy of disarming the MPs and perhaps seeking public sympathy.
The courts yesterday declined to rule in favor of petitions filed by Gachagua’s supporters seeking to stop parliament from debating the motion.
One of the key roles of members of parliament is oversight and the mover avers the motion of impeachment of DP falls in this category.
It therefore follows that any member was free to file the motion after collecting not less than 117 signatures from members supporting the ouster.
Reports indicate that 300 members have signed up so far but DP allies have disputed this figure while stating that the final vote will not garner more than 180 votes.
But on the same breath, the allies aver that they were contemplating advising the DP to resign before MPs cast the final vote.
If the allies’ wish come to pass then it means the motion will not see the light of day.
This is because the number will not meet the threshold of two-thirds majority which 233 members.
The final voting takes place after the conclusion of the debate.
Notably, the onus to prove the grounds of impeachment lies with the Mover.
The DP and his allies have all along been trying to drag the name of President William Ruto into woes facing the DP.
This is despite the fact that the President has never commented about this matter.
Besides, he always recognized and appreciated the presence of the DP whenever they shared the same podium. He would assign duties to his deputy.
The DP, on other hand, would be upbeat whenever he represented the President in this functions.
The latest was during the funeral service of 21 pupils of Hillside Endarasha Academy who succumbed to flames of raging fire that gutted their dormitory at night.
The DP stated that “I’m here to represent my boss President William Ruto and I have his message of condolences “.
At the time, the President was in Germany on an official duty.
The claims by DP’s allies that President Ruto have the power to stop the MPs from impeaching his deputy were meant to mislead and confuse Kenyans.
Constitutionally speaking, the President does not have any power to interfere with the work of parliament.
Yes, the President is allowed to chair parliamentary group meeting of ruling party/coalition ahead of critical debates in parliament.
This will give members a free hand to build a common position.
We have in the past seen the wish of the President being overruled when the members vote.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga Is A Writer And Social Commentator Based In Nairobi
